iPod & iTunes: The Missing Manual, Fourth Edition

Headphone and Remote Problems

If you’re having sound-quality issues with your headphones, check to make sure that they’re firmly plugged in. Some headphone cords are notoriously fragile, and the wires encased in the plastic sheathing can break if the headphone cord is bent, twisted, yanked out roughly, slammed in a car door, or chomped on by a pet rabbit (Figure 12-3).

Figure 12-3. Pets and iPods don’t mix! If your headphones don’t sound very good, check for teeth marks along the cord.

If you are getting patchy, scratchy sound from your iPod headphones, try using them with another portable player or stereo to confirm that it’s the headphones having the problem and not the iPod’s headphones port. If the headphones sound fine on other players, you might have a loose headphone jack that requires professional help.

Some iPod models can use a small wired remote control to command the iPod’s playback functions. If the remote isn’t controlling much of anything, make sure it’s firmly pushed into the iPod’s top jack. Late-model iPods like the Nano and the video-player Pod can’t use the remote controls designed for earlier iPods because they lack that extra oval jack next to the headphones port.